Opposing surveillance, supporting freedom Prompted by EFF, I sent the following message to my representative: I strongly oppose government surveillance of U.S. citizens, so I'm asking you to please vote no on any bill that includes a clea...

EFF is always the place to start when you want to support freedom and security and oppose surveillance.

www.philipbrewer.net/2026/04/12/o...

Same.

300 black and white pen illustrations of bugs, in the broad sense.

BUG ZINE IS DONE. 300 bug doodles for your enjoyment
ko-fi.com/s/39376568d4

Tanker Watch IE @Galwaybaywatch A tanker en route to Galway has been waiting off the coast of Clare since this morning. A tanker that arrived in Cork on the 7th is still alongside. Two more tankers arrived in Dublin last night/early morning. [Four screen caps from Marine Traffic describe these ships' trajectory] 5:15 PM · Apr 10, 2026 · 829 Views

The tractor "protests" in Ireland are having the same effect that Iran is in Hormuz.

Things are amazingly more bad than markets seem to think For no reason I can understand, markets seem to think that (with the cease fire with Iran) things are going to return more or less to normal, more or less immediately. This is false.

The cease-fire in Iran is barely even the beginning of the solution, even if it holds, and even if it opens the Strait.

www.philipbrewer.net/2026/04/10/t...

The Easy-to-Miss Reform in the ROAD to Housing Act Worth Preserving Ned Resnikoff explains how preapproved building designs in the ROAD to Housing Act can fast-track construction and help solve the US housing shortage

I've written a fair amount about my least favorite provision in the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, so I thought I'd write something about my favorite provision: the section on pre-approved designs. rooseveltinstitute.org/blog/the-eas...

Short answer: Avoid debt, raise cash (even though the "-flation" part will bite), limit investments in the stock market or your own business (crushed by the "stag" part), and wait for things to get better.

Our new upcoming stagflation A group of friends and I agreed last week that the most likely result of the most likely policies coming out of this administration is stagflation. Talking about it reminded me of the Wise Brea...

Here is my most recent (but pre-war) post on stagflation: www.philipbrewer.net/2025/01/24/o...

And here's my old, old (pre-pandemic) post on stagflation: www.wisebread.com/all-about-st...

I always say, "Two shakes of a dead lamb's tail."

I just think that two shakes of a lamb's tail is a weird way to measure time.

Most of the people in my HEMA group have painted their masks. It took me a while because I needed to find a set of acrylic paint markers with at least three shades of brown. (Which did not turn out to be as hard as I'd expected.)

The only thing more terrifying would be a raccoon, which would be too scary to carry.

A fencing mask painted to look like a sloth's face

I have finally gotten around to painting my fencing mask. #hema

During Qing Ming, mourners make offerings for their dead.

Wishing a peaceful Qing Ming to all who observe. 🙏

Revin's Heart by Steven D. Brewer A young man falls in with airship pirates … and discovers how to follow his heart.

For the #TransDayOfVisibility, I invite you to read my steampunky fantasy adventure Revin's Heart, with pirates and airships and a #trans protagonist. waterdragonpublishing.com/product/revi...

Even after four years I remain salty about this bit in the NYT: www.philipbrewer.net/2022/02/07/20

Solidarity!

My most hopeful scenario for Iran Recent news is that a contingent of ground forces have arrived in Iran. The markets still seem expect that Trump will chicken out (which seems likely) and that things will return to normal in the Gulf...

Maybe marines and soldiers can briefly take enough of Iran's coastline to limit attacks on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, but I doubt it. And only as long as our forces stay there to be steadily killed.

www.philipbrewer.net/2026/03/29/m...

A Reflection on No Kings and Revin’s Heart - Steven D. BREWER I took a trans flag to the March 28, 2026 No Kings protest in Amherst. There are many things to protest about Trump and the MAGA movement: the misguided war in Iran, the destruction of our global alli...

I drafted a reflection on the #NoKings protest and the themes of my debut novel, Revin's Heart, which confronts issues of feudalism grounded in the experience of a trans protagonist. stevendbrewer.com/a-reflection...

If I were negotiating for Iran The U.S. has supposedly provided a "15-point plan" to Pakistan which has supposedly passed it on to Iran. I have no idea what's in that plan, nor what Iran's reaction has been. But I do have some i...

Markets are acting like once Trump chickens out, oil supplies will quickly return to normal. But that is not true, so the world economy is much more screwed than current market prices suggest.

Iran has a much stronger hand than most people seem to realize.

www.
philipbrewer.net/2026/03/25/if

This is why I've always preferred punched paper tape.

Cartoon by Mike Smith

2026-03-22 14:19 A pretty good run! 4.01 miles in 1h 5min 55s, for an average pace of 16:25 and an average HR of 140 bpm. I don't auto-pause the run tracking, so if I'm running a 14-minute mile (still pretty slow) and...

This run seemed harder than my previous run. I suspect it was because yesterday I had a 3 hour 30 minute sword-fighting workshop. It didn't leave me exhausted or even especially sore today, but when I started to run, it seemed like I didn't have any oomph.

www.
philipbrewer.net/2026/03/22/20

I always preferred html to pdf. Now I'm having to reconsider.

www.philipbrewer.net/2026/03/18/p...

2026-03-17 13:49 Ashley is pleased with her new toy, but perhaps not as pleased as Jackie. 🐕

Ashley's new toy is a gift from her best friend. #dogsofmastodon

www.philipbrewer.net/2026/03/17/2...

The new stagflation starts to bite I've known since before the inauguration that the economy was facing stagflation. The tax cuts would boost the deficit, raising interest rates. The tariffs would boost prices, producing inflation. Bot...

I can tell you how to arrange your finances to survive #stagflation, but I can’t tell you have to survive a #war. Wars are very bad.

www.philipbrewer.net/2026/03/14/t...

First thing I thought of. :-)

Now I want to see a new version of Masters of the Universe drawn in this style.

Bread with all the gluten When I was 2 years old, I was in the hospital twice with digestive issues, and came out with a diagnosis of celiac. This was in the very early 1960s, when nobody knew diddly squat about celiac, an...

I baked a loaf of bread with wheat, oats, rye, AND barley (the things I had been told I couldn't eat when I was a boy): www.philipbrewer.net/2026/03/07/b...